The present invention relates generally to the field of heat sinks, and more particularly to heat sinks for heat-generating electronic components.
A heat sink is a passive heat exchanger that removes heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device, allowing the regulation of the device temperature. In computers, heat sinks are used to cool heat-generating electronic components, for example, central processing units (CPUs) or graphics processors. Generally, the temperature of the electronic component depends on the thermal resistance from the electronic component to the surrounding environment, and the heat dissipated by the electronic component. To prevent the electronic component from overheating, an efficient heat transfer path from the component to the surrounding environment may be desired, which may be from the component to a printed circuit board (PCB), to a heat sink, to air flow provided by a fan, and to the surrounding environment.
A heat sink is designed to maximize its surface area in contact with the cooling medium surrounding it, such as the air. Factors that affect the performance of a heat sink include air velocity, choice of material, protrusion design, surface treatment, and thermal interface materials. The shape of fins must be optimized to maximize heat transfer density and to minimize the pressure drop in the air flow across the heat sink. Many shapes exist ranging from elliptical and cylindrical cylinders, conical shapes to more sharpened surfaces. In general, the more surface area a heat sink has, the better its thermal performance is.